(1) Field
The present inventions relate generally to a supply of clean room wipes and, more particularly, to a clean room wipes treated to provide improved strength and particulate capture over an untreated wipe.
(2) Related Art
Wipes find utility in cleaning surfaces, whenever it is desirable to minimize particulate contamination. Wipes are utilized for a number of different cleaning applications, such as in clean rooms, automotive painting rooms and other controlled environments.
Different applications require different standards that these types of wipes should attain. For example, wipes utilized in clean rooms must meet stringent performance standards. These standards are related to fluid sorbency and contamination, including maximum allowable particulate, unspecified extractable matter and individual ionic contaminants. The standards for particulate contaminant release are especially rigorous and various methods have been devised to meet them.
Wipes may be made from knitted, woven or non-woven textile fabrics. The fabric is cut into wipes, typically 9-inch-by-9-inch squares. The wipes may be washed in a clean room laundry, employing special surfactants and highly filtered and purified water, to reduce the contamination present on the fabric. After washing, the wipes may be packaged dry or pre-saturated with a suitable solvent.
The physical properties of wipes are generally dependent on the substrate the wipes are made from and the fabric are often sealed along the edges or otherwise further enhanced mechanically.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved clean room wipe that is suitable for such use while, at the same time, is treated to provide improved strength and particulate capture over an untreated wipe.